Genesis Electrified GV70 long-term test: charging issues fail to dent its appeal

Verdict

Aside from a failed charge – probably not the car’s fault – we’ve been very impressed by the Genesis ownership experience. Car makers can bang on about how they stand out from the crowd, but initial experience suggests Genesis could be a cut above the rest.

• Mileage: 5,055
• Efficiency: 2.9 miles/kWh

The Genesis GV70 in the main picture has a different number plate to the one that first arrived on our fleet late last year. The colour, interior trim and spec are identical, but the car itself is new.

I’d enjoyed the company of OE23 YWW for almost a month, and had covered nearly 700 miles running festive errands around town, with the occasional trip out of London for work. I’d also driven the car, fully loaded with the family in tow, to visit my parents for Christmas – all without issue.

When we arrived, my dad kindly moved his BMW i3 out of the way and I plugged the GV70 into his home wallbox. I didn’t think anything of it, and being relatively late at night, left it charging and headed for bed.

Except when I woke up, the Genesis Connected Services (GCS) app was showing a range of just 34 miles – pretty much exactly how I’d left it eight hours earlier. Assuming the app simply wasn’t communicating with the car, I shoved on some shoes and went to investigate. Yet before I’d even hit the unlock button, I could tell something was wrong: the wallbox was flashing red.

Giving the car and the charger the benefit of the doubt, I disconnected the cable and plugged it back in. The light went green, so I went inside. I checked back 15 minutes later, and guess what? The charge had failed again.

I repeated the process a number of times, but nothing seemed to work for more than a few minutes. I called Genesis Roadside Assistance, and within an hour a friendly AA patrolman called Jay had his diagnostics computer wired into the car’s OBD port.

He could see the faults, but resetting them made no difference; the car still refused to take a charge for any length of time. Tricking the car into thinking it was a Hyundai Ioniq 6 (the Genesis uses much of the same hardware – including its 800-volt electric architecture) allowed Jay to fool the car for longer, but the error returned.

So in the absence of a solution, we were forced to have the car recovered for further investigation. Genesis Assistance had been brilliant throughout; its efficiency in getting the car collected – just three days before Christmas – was admirable. I can’t even begin to imagine receiving the same level of service from one of the big German brands.

I’m still waiting for a diagnostic report from the dealer, but having heard my sister had a similar issue using the same wallbox with her Ford EV only last week, I think we’ve found the source of the problem. Strangely, my dad’s had no issues with his i3.

But I’m a glass half-full kind of guy. So while YWW was away, I used this as an opportunity to utilise the (free) service
of a Genesis Personal Assistant. These individuals can help you spec your chosen model, arrange test drives or even book your car in for a service after taking delivery. What these guys don’t know about the Korean luxury brand isn’t worth knowing.

Step forward Matt Brook, the GV70 (or any Genesis for that matter) guru. While my car was away, he took time out of his schedule to deliver a replacement to my home and give a bespoke rundown of some of the mid-size SUV’s most important kit.

Having already lived with the car for almost a month, I was confident connecting my phone, adjusting most of the settings, and finding chargepoints on the move. Matt openly admits he’ll tailor his lessons depending on the customer; he’s happy to skip the basics on this occasion and focus on features I may not have yet noticed.

“The little magnifying glass [on the infotainment screen] is your best friend,” Matt tells us. “You can use it to find just about anything.” As such, he types ‘head’ into the search bar, and opens up a load of settings related to the crystal-clear head-up display. From here, I can select which information I do or don’t want to see, or choose to switch the system off completely.

He’s also keen to show me the fingerprint-recognition tech – an extra fitted to my car. It’s a nifty feature that allows multiple users to store their settings, whether that’s for the seats and steering wheel, menu layouts or media settings; you just scan your finger when you get in and the car does the rest. If you share your GV70 with a family member, that could be £80 well spent.

The more we delve into things, the more I’m impressed with the GV70’s functionality. “You can even control the car from the key,” he reminds us, hopping out and pointing to some of the buttons on the fob. “Imagine you were parked between a Range Rover and a pick-up – you can use the key to reverse out of the space, without setting foot inside.”

It’s not something you’d use every day, but it’s clever kit that – along with the superbly crafted cabin, excellent refinement and searing straight-line speed – goes some way to justifying the Electrified GV70’s rather lofty £65,105 starting price.

I’m hoping my time with GV70 OHM (yes, that’s a private reg) is short lived, and that I can get back into ‘my’ car as soon as possible. At that point, I’ll be able to better assess the pros and cons of this version’s spec sheet, and decide for sure if this is a better premium EV than a Mercedes EQC.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.